August and September were difficult months for us. There were a lot of ups and downs.
Thankfully, the COVID situation has been improving here in Taiwan. At the beginning of August, we were able to start reopening the cafe. This meant our weekly English conversation event, Coffee Talk, could resume in-person on Friday nights. The max capacity was 10 in August, so I led each session by myself. In September, we were able to increase the capacity. We have a small group of native English speakers from other churches who are willing to volunteer. For the fall months, we are able to have 3 teachers each session. However, we are in desperate need for additional volunteers. As attendance goes back to normal, we will need more help. It has been difficult to find new volunteers in the middle of the pandemic.
Out of an abundance of caution, church services remained completely over Zoom. However, we have been broadcasting parts of the service from church, instead of people’s houses. The worship team has started to lead worship from the church. However, this creates new technical difficulties that I have been trying to work out. We will be slowly inviting people back in person during the month of August. We are also in the middle of looking for a new building for the church. The situation is always changing. The church community has continued to remain committed to each other. We were able to take a Mid-Autumn Festival trip to Luodong. It was a great opportunity to spend more time with each other and support one another.
The cafe was open for business during August. By the end of August, the two cafe workers decided to leave. We weren’t able to open the cafe in September. September became a month of praying and listening for God: ask, seek, knock. The potential new space for the church also complicates things as well. Also, there will be a shift in focus in our ministries. In the new building, there will be more of a focus on education and classes. We are still figuring out ways to incorporate coffee. With the cafe closed, I was able to test out some of the desserts the cafe used to make. Hopefully I will find ways to incorporate food items as well.
Thank you all for your continued prayer! There has been real impact to my Chinese learning. I have taken some practice TOCFL (Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language) and can pass Level 1! This has encouraged me to sit for the actual test next month.
Please continue to pray for the future of the church: the new building, the new direction of the cafe, the new education programs, more volunteers for Coffee Talk.
This has personally been very difficult for me. But I know that you have all been praying for me. That is the support that has kept me going all this time!